Two young women accidentally bring back the Sanderson Sisters to modern-day Salem and must figure out how to stop the child-hungry witches from wreaking havoc on the world. The world may have been free of Winifred, Mary, and Sarah and the fear they invoked, but what happens when you mess with magic? It messes back. This long-awaited sequel to the classic Hocus Pocus (1993) brings back the original actresses to their iconic roles as the Sanderson sisters, who once again return after their last defeat. Whilst nowhere near as good as the first one, which admittedly has some faults that I tend to overlook, it does manage to deliver some laughs and nostalgia. I wouldn't go as far as to say it is completely nostalgia-driven, although naturally, it is going to do some catering to the fans and try to evoke that feeling of the original. They reference many significant plot points, characters and traits, events and details that will be picked up on by fans. From the witches mistaking a black cat for Thackery Binx, the sister's affinity for the theatrics when it comes to singing a dance number to Book revealing his location upon being opened. They even acknowledged the peculiar virgin plot of the first in a hilarious scene of a retelling of the original story where a kid asks what one is only to get a fake answer. The opening of the film was quite a surprise as we are treated to a young Winifred, joined by her sisters, Mary and Sarah, who are unbelievably well portrayed by the young actresses who got down their behaviour and little traits to a T. We get some insight to their origins in becoming the iconic witches like obtaining Book from another witch who gifts it to Winifred on her sixteenth birthday. I think the three of them alone were an instant highlight of the film besides, of course, the original actresses. I would even go as far as to say I would've liked to see more from them. Moving onto the modern day, taking place 29 years after the first, we are introduced to three new leads (Becca, Izzy and Cassie) who I found more annoying than the 93 cast. They did absolutely nothing for me as I didn't care about them or find them all that interesting. Plus we don't even get to see the girl Cassie for the majority of the film as she falls out with the other two girls and feels quite pointless until the final act. The witches are brought back by Becca and Izzy who light a black-flamed candle unknowingly given to them by Gilbert (unable to light it himself not being a virgin) who works in a gift shop that happens to be the original cottage of the Sanderson's. Gilbert believed everything about the witches after having seen them back on Halloween night of 1993 when they exploded. He discovers the candle diminished and Book, who instructs him how to recreate the candle allowing for them to return once more. Upon their return, the sisters are straight back to their old tricks and naturally, hijinks ensue as they galabant around Salem. On the way we see Billy return as the loveable zombie who sadly never rested after the previous fight as we were led to believe and was awake all these years. The Sandersons of cause generate the most laughs going from eating beauty products thinking they have the souls of children in them, partaking in a contest with people dressed like them only to lose (which was hysterical) and even doing another musical number to 'One Way or Another' to entrance a crowd. Although the three continue to bring an entertaining performance, I cannot deny something feels off compared to the first and I would have to say that it is due to the lack of energy. I mean, the actresses have aged since then and are not as energetic as they once were, which I feel slightly hinders it. There are also some strange inclusions in the feature like seeing some people watching a scene from Hocus Pocus, which is so bizarre and confusing. Even people dress up as characters from the film, which further makes no sense. Overall, Hocus Pocus 2 may not be the most renowned sequel ever, but it is one that produced a few laughs and brought some nostalgia. I personally had a good enough time and found it to be a nice follow-up however, it isn't one I would check out every Halloween like I would with the first.
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